You can probably guess that the obesity epidemic has changed the way medicine is practiced, but you may not know that this change has come about more quickly than doctors have been trained to address it. Ever wonder why doctors are clueless about how to address this problem? Because most of us are as stymied by the problem as the next person. If there was a quick fix, we’d all be better off. But there isn’t, and we’re all in the same boat.

For whatever reason, many doctors don’t realize that their patients already know they have a problem, which is it won’t help matters at all to tell them that they weigh too much. Lots of doctors don’t realize that most if not all patients have already tried everything they can think of, and that they don’t need or appreciate reminders to “eat less” or “exercise more.” It doesn’t occur to the doc that the likelihood is that you’ve already tried, and likely more than once. It’s a bit of a switch to think that you might have something to teach your doctor, but why not? You are the expert on you, and there is a whole lot to tell that your doctor has no idea about. Like what? Like what’s working for you in the way of food choices. 

So what can you tell your doctors that they don’t already know? Maybe you can teach them about the difference between real food and manufactured calories. Here are a few ideas you could share with your doctor, no matter what their specialty:

First, say that real food nourishes, whereas manufactured calories entertain. That’s the difference. Foods — like vegetables, beans, nuts, fruits, seeds, and whole grains — are loaded with color, fiber, and nourishing fats. They nourish you at the cellular level, the metabolic level. Examples of foods include avocados, black beans, grapes, mangoes, oatmeal, peanut butter, quinoa, romaine, sunflower seeds. Eggs, fish, cheese, poultry. That’s food.

Fun, on the other hand, is nothing like food. Food-like items, which the processed-food industry sometimes describes as “junk,” or “fast,” or even “food” (e.g., processed American cheese food), are made mostly from white flour, white rice, corn syrup, corn starch, and commodity oils (soy, corn, cottonseed), not to mention sugar, many versions of which are often layered in and among the ingredient lists of ultra-processed items.

There’s a reason you can eat a big bag of candy at the movies, and then go out for dinner afterward. Your brain knows it wasn’t nourished, and it’s still hungry! Think about it. What if they sold roasted Brussels sprouts, salmon, and sweet potatoes at the movie theater? Would you go out for dinner afterward? Probably not. A major problem with the standard American diet is that a great many people, under the mistaken impression that they are being nourished, spend a large part of their days eating entertainment. Maybe that’s why some folks stay hungry all the time, and can’t figure out why.

It’s not that you can never have manufactured calories, it’s just that you probably shouldn’t keep eating them instead of food. In addition to food? Well okay, sometimes. But not instead of food. I’m not saying that you should never purchase anything from a vending machine, or that you can never eat another chip, cookie, or Froot loop®. What I am saying is that they don’t nourish you. You want to be a well-nourished human being who enjoys a treat now and then. But treats aren’t food. They’re entertainment. They’re just for fun.

You don’t have to give up your special blueberry muffins (or brownie or apple pie) on Sunday mornings, especially if those muffins are what make your life worth living. There’s a place for entertainment in your diet and it’s perfectly reasonable to enjoy treats from time to time, especially if you also go for regular walks and your blood sugars are normal. You just need to first make sure that you are nourishing yourself well on a daily basis. It’s not treats that are the problem, it’s the fact that we’re drowning in them. A daily diet of cheese crackers, buckets of nuggets dipped in French dressing, corn chips, and soda pop is not a prescription for good health. Real food does not generally come in buckets, or in shiny, crunchy, decorative packages with creative names, like “Special K®.” What is so special about K, anyway? Fun is fine, but it isn’t food.

When you eat food that sticks to your ribs and keeps you satisfied for a nice, long while, there’s a good chance it was nourishing. If, on the other hand, you find yourself famished an hour later, it was probably entertainment. Teach your doctor that you are learning to trust your gut, and remind them that fun is fine, but it isn’t food. Remember this: every time your doctor learns something new, they get to share it with all their patients.